Past Programs

Monday, March 18, 2013                  “Effective Book Blurb Copy”
Effective blurb copy is crucial for self-published authors, but it's also important for querying/pitching to editors and agents and lining up promotional interviews. Knowing how important it is doesn't make it any easier for most of us to do.  Using examples from various genres and 30 years of copywriting experience, author Sally Felt will share techniques, tools and tips to help writers feel better prepared—or at least more inspired—to write a selling blurb. After building a thirty year career as an advertising copywriter for an international clientele, Felt reduced her workload to conduct “playshops” which help others find their own map to have fun and write books filled with characters learning to leap. In addition to writing, speaking and adventuring, Felt takes on freelance copywriting jobs from time to time. Her novel "Going Native" was published in January 2013.

October 15, 2012
“Getting the Most from the Sound of Your Writing” – Joe Milazzo, speaker, writer and Director of Community Education & Outreach at The Writer's Garret, will focus on the "sound" of your writing and how the sounds of language affect meaning and expression. He will provide an overview of phonetic basics as well as some reading and writing exercises.

September 17, 2012
“Storytelling for Promotion” – Dave Lieber, speaker and “Yankee Cowboy,” shows writers how to use storytelling techniques that enable your message to “walk across the newsroom on to the front page.” For nearly 30 years, Dave, a humorist, storyteller and award-winning columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has used stories to change the world.

August 20, 2012
“Copyright, Intellectual Property, and TALA” – Speaker and attorney Andrea Perez, Fears and Nachawati Law Firm discusses legal topics writers need to understand.  TALA (Texas Accountants & Lawyers for the Arts) supports the cultural community in Texas by providing volunteer legal, accounting and educational services to arts organizations and patrons.

July 16, 2012
“Developing Your Unique Voice” – Next to a great idea, voice is what appeals most to editors and readers. Speaker and bestselling author Michelle Stimpson has penned several works, including the highly acclaimed Boaz Brown, national bestseller Divas of Damascus Road, and her latest release, Someone to Watch Over Me.

June 18, 2012
June “Read-In” - come and enjoy hearing WGT members read excerpts from published and in-progress work, including short stories, novel excerpts, essays and poetry.

May 21, 2012
“High Impact Book Marketing” - Speaker Rachel Simeone, book marketing expert, uses her 20+ years of experience in Internet and consumer marketing to help authors accelerate their sales and achieve their dreams. Rachel is known for exploiting hidden opportunities to give authors a marketing advantage. She has worked in strategic and brand marketing for Time, Inc., Williams-Sonoma, Gump, and online book publisher, Blurb.